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NOAK Study Urges Climate Finance of Adaptation-Mitigation Synergies

11 January 2013: A report prepared for the Nordic Working Group for Global Climate Negotiations (NOAK) finds that synergies between climate change adaptation and mitigation can foster a more efficient, responsive and comprehensive climate policy.

The report identifies major opportunities for synergistic climate finance, for example, through increased wastewater reuse, biocharcoal from agricultural waste, and renewable rural electrification.

The report, titled “Scoping Study on Financing Adaptation-Mitigation Synergy Activities,” draws on a broad review of current research and 26 expert interviews. It finds that, although current research remains limited, synergies carry the potential for co-benefits with other sustainable development goals across a range of sectors, including: agriculture; forestry and land use; energy; infrastructure planning; construction; transportation; insurance; and waste treatment. Yet, despite these potential benefits, the scoping study does not identify any funding instruments that currently harness such synergies in a systematic and explicit fashion.

The report offers four recommendations: conducting further empirical research on the benefits and challenges of synergies; reviewing of the funding criteria of relevant climate funds; linking the concept of synergies with climate mainstreaming; and catalyzing private sector climate action. It also provides four additional recommendations urging Nordic countries to leverage their sectoral expertise and presence in major climate funds to strengthen synergistic climate finance, particularly in developing countries. [Nordic Council of Ministers Press Release] [Publication: Scoping Study on Financing Adaptation-Mitigation Synergy Activities]